James Beard Award Poll

Both Top Chef Master/Top Chef Texas judge Hugh Acheson and Top Chef Texas cheftestant Edward Lee are finalists in the James Beard 2012 Best Chef Southeast category. Who do you think will win it? Vote here and then tune in after May 7 when the winners will be announced.

poll by twiigs.com

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Recap Roundup - Top Chef Texas Reunion

A Just Recompense offers her thoughts on the season as a whole: "In summary: more cooking, less crap. I want to know more about the process they go through to choose what they’ll make, and how they overcome culinary obstacles (a forced ingredient, time limitations, etc) not who hates whom and who best rides a bicycle. But a lot of us have been saying this since Episode One, and it seems someone thinks drama is the road to success. The editing has improved – we can tell the arugula was not going to eliminate Paul; Tom just looked like an idiot harping on it – but there’s still too much focus on suspense and not enough on what happened. Since we don’t taste the food, we need to hear what the judges say, good and bad, and if there isn’t anything bad, say that. And stop it with the Trophy Kids approach: 'Everyone did a super job so we’re splitting hairs.' Arugula is splitting hairs. Overcooked custard and lumpy polenta is not. Leave that for the truly slight differences, things people disagree on: was the chicken undercooked? Was the fish on the edge of over? Tell the truth, that’s all. Tell the whole truth."

My Monkey Could Do That on Would You Rather: "Really, Andy? 'Would You Rather?' you couldn’t find a better use of your last five minutes? Heather, make out with Beverly or cook Asian food forever? Make out with Bev. Sarah, Texas or Italy? Padma is like, uh…not that hard. Italy. Malibu, would you rather be a porn star or an action hero? OK, that one is funny. Action hero? What? Apparently we were short on quotes this season, because the T-shirt has no quotes, it just is black with white dotted lines outlining a torso. A weird looking torso. It kind of looks like boobs, and an hourglass figure, but there are some weird lines that do not correspond to anything. And then a giant knife in the middle. This T-shirt sucks. Oh, that was the Commercial Interlude. Just like the T-shirt: nonsensical and stupid."

PopWatch on fun things: "But honestly, after a whole season in which the food took a backseat to all the undercooked drama in the kitchen, I was glad that most of the reunion focused on other topics — like Ty-lör and his furry bottom. Oh my God. Seriously, why were we subjected to that? He’s a good-looking guy, but in that photo he looks like an unholy union between Bluto and the Coppertone girl. That wasn’t the most disturbing moment of the night, though: We also learned that Sarah has 'teary orgasms.' Thanks, Bravo. I can’t un-know that. I need a nice sorbet to cleanse that from my brain-palate."

Minxeats is all photos this time, to make up for the lack thereof for the past several episodes.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Top Chefs in the News

The Chicago Tribune has a nice article on the Chicago chefs who participated in Top Chef Texas (Heather Terhune, Sarah Grueneberg, Richie Farina, Chris Jones, Chuy Valencia, and Beverly Kim.)

Photo credit: Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Congratulations, Fan Favorite Chris Crary!

Chris Crary racked up 63,504,625 points in this season's Fan Favorite competition. While there's some grumbling about his social media campaigning for votes, Fan Favorite is, after all, just a popularity contest.

Who was your favorite chef this season?

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Reactions to the Top Chef Texas Reunion

NOW season 9 is officially over.

What did you think about this year's reunion? Any surprises? Anything you think was particularly interesting? Please tell us in the comments!

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Top Chef Texas Reunion Previews

Don't forget - the reunion special airs one hour earlier than usual, 9pm ET!

Watch the first video here.
Watch the second video here.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Recap Roundup - Top Chef Texas Finale

Minxeats on an annoying sous chef: "The next day, the chefs finalize their work. StoneTylerStone - who, I just realized, is dressed like an evil dentist - has been a huge pain the whole time. Grayson in particular seems annoyed. She tells us that the girls will 'jam out with their clams out,' (and this is why we should be thankful that chefs wear pants and aprons, for both safety and hygienic reasons) while StoneTylerStone does his own thang. Which just so happens to be chopping celery, the only thing Sarah trusts him to do."

Jordan Baker on truth: "(seriously, it’s like the different departments at Bravo are in cahoots to drive me away from this show. The production end makes a lackluster program, designed to destroy my interest. The casting folks pick a punch of bland chefs with midrange talent. And the web interns just go on fucking strike and refuse to do their job, making putting aesthetically pleasant recaps together an impossible dream)"

A Just Recompense on choosing sous:
"Paul picks Barbara Lynch; he’s thrilled, but worried about being able to treat her like a sous chef.
Sarah picks halibut with green lentils and pomegranate, and gets Nyesha. Sarah’s happy, because she can do sauces. We don’t hear much from Nyesha.
Paul picks buckwheat noodles, and gets Ty-lör. Also good.
Sarah really wants Heather, and she sees dumplings and knows that’s Heather’s dish but she also sees scallops with raisins and citrus, and thinks she recognizes it as something on Heather’s menu so picks that… except it isn’t Heather, it’s Tyler Stone. Thank you God. Someone mutters, 'That’s unfortunate.' Actually, I think Sarah can handle him (meaning squash his ass); he’d undo Paul. Sarah says, 'I’m not letting you butcher.' Me, I’d send him out for pizza. No, no, that isn’t fair, give him a chance.
Paul likes the lamb with blueberry mustard and crispy parsnips and gets Malibu Chris, who intentionally used Asian flavors to lure Paul. Sarah had said she wasn’t sure she could work with him because he’s so hot, so this works for both of them.
Sarah takes chicken with black pepper and dumplings, and that’s Heather like she knew it was in the first place. Sarah’s glad because she’s a pastry chef and she can run a kitchen. Wait – isn’t that supposed to be Sarah’s job?
Paul picks dungeness crab and gets Keith. I guess having him go to Sarah, who he butted heads with in his only episode, would’ve been too much to hope for. Just don’t send him out to buy shrimp.
Sarah chooses pasta carbonara with fried brussels sprouts and it’s Grayson. Grayson takes the high road and has very nice things to say about her."

Max the Girl on Stone, Tyler Stone: "First, Tyler shows up in the kitchen in dress pants and shoes. (Hey, you never know if a Hollywood casting agent is watching the show, people! You can all have your bandanas and drawstring pants and comfortable shoes. Stone, Tyler Stone, is a sharp-dressed man.)Then, his mise en place skills are mise en whack. Seriously, I can chop celery faster than he does. And I have the knife skills of a particularly adroit monkey. Later, he assures Sarah that he knows how to whip up a white-chocolate ganache better than she does. 'It’s going to be super smooth like me this,' he says. 'You’re going to have the perfect texture.'"

Eater on issues at the grocery store: "Everyone heads to the Farmer's Market and to Whole Foods to shop. Tyler's the worst and seems bent on Sarah doing things she's not comfortable with, so she tries to corral him by giving her simple tasks. 'Tyler, can you count how many aisles there are in the store, then can you find a man with a red hat and ask him what his favorite ice cream is? If you can count backwards from a thousand real slow it'll really help my dish.' Paul says his parents were disappointed when he failed out of college. Did we know he failed out? To hammer the point home that he did not finish college, they show him counting money at the register and looking a little confused. He must have trouble keeping track of figures."

Entertainment Weekly on a class act: "The first group of judges got a taste of Paul's 'nice and jiggly' chawanmushi (egg custard) with edamame, pea shoots, and spot prawns — and they loved it. But when it came time to serve the second group of judges, Keith overcooked the batch. Paul didn't bite Keith's head off, as Sarah undoubtedly would have. He said he couldn't get mad at Keith because he trained him in cooking the chawanmushi. (Hear that, Lindsay??!!)"

Gail Simmons for PopWatch on picking the Top Chef: "[We started deliberation] at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. [and] I think we were there until 5:30 a.m. or 6 a.m. There was a breakfast taco truck waiting for us when we finished. It’s never cut and dry. We all saw great sparks of talent in both menus [and] none of us could deny that both were great. It’s always a back and forth. What’s interesting about this judges table is that it was the first time ever in nine seasons that we had five judges. We were basically squishing in at judges table. It changed the balance of things a little bit and I thought it was really productive actually to have an odd number because it really does create a different dialogue, a different conversation.

"How do we [decide who's Top Chef]? We talk, we talk, we talk. We go through every element and we go through them again. There’s so many things to be said about every course and there’s so much that I may think when I eat something but then when I talk to people who ate it and experienced it differently they bring up things I hadn’t thought about. I learn from them, they learn from me. We discuss elements and often someone will have a really convincing argument that you understand and that makes sense. So it’s just a process from beginning to end. That’s why it takes so long. We talk it out, we really do. Sometimes to the point of exhaustion, where we turn to our producers and say, 'Please come on, help us out here.'"

My Monkey Could Do That on wine tasting: "Tom and Emeril meet Sarah and Paul to pair wines with their dishes. This is also stupid. There are like, maybe 8 wines there. And they’re all the same winery. You can probably pair them, but a real restaurant wouldn’t restrict the options like that. Emeril tells them to take a snapshot of Restaurant Wars. Yeah, seriously. Paul regrets that, because he should have been team leader and expedited, but he was afraid to step on people‘s toes. Sarah says nothing about regretting Restaurant Wars."

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Top Recipe - Paul Qui's Chawanmushi

Chawanmushi, Steamed Egg Custard, Prawns and Pea Shoots

3 cups dashi stock
1 cup eggs, scrambled
1/4 cup edamame
8 spotted prawns
1/4 pound clarified butter
Salt, to taste
1 lemon, zested
Pea shoots, garnish

1. Combine dashi and eggs and place in tea cups. Place 4 ounces in each container and cover in plastic wrap, you should have 8 portions.
2. Place cups in a pan and pour water covering a quarter of each cup.
3. Put in oven at 300 degrees Celsius until chawanmushi sets, approximately 1 hour.
4. Poach spotted prawns in clarified butter.
5. Warm edamame in clarified butter and place in chawanmushi cup.
6. Garnish with pea shoots and finish with lemon zest, and juice. Season to taste.

© 2012 PAUL QUI

Posted on AllTopChef.com

All Top Chef Interview with Top Chef Texas Finalist, Sarah Grueneberg

Top Chef Texas finalist, Sarah Grueneberg talks about her experience on the show.

A highlight:

ATC: What did you do to prepare for the finale?

SG: Well, I "staged" at many different restaurants, I went to every Asian market that I could find with my mentor. I worked on the dishes that I wanted to create. I took some pastry classes. I just wanted to be completely confident going in to the finale.

Click here to continue.

Thank you Chef Sarah!

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Bravo Exit Interview - Paul Qui

Click here to watch the video.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Bravo Exit Interview - Sarah Grueneberg

Click here to watch the video.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Chef Paul Qui is Top Chef!

In this final battle, Chefs Paul and Sarah cooked their hearts out, each making a 4-course meal that dazzled the judges, who went so far as to proclaim it the best finale dinner ever. You know the decision had to be difficult! But in the end, Chef Qui's chawanmushi, loup de mer, congee, and sweet/savory dessert won out.


Congratulations to Chef Paul Qui, the newest Top Chef!

This post is only for positive comments about Chef Qui. If you have anything negative to say, please do so on our Reactions post.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Reactions to Top Chef Texas Finale Part 3

In this final episode, we were first treated to a mini competition between former cheftestants and renowned chefs Marco Canora and Barbara Lynch as they fought for eight coveted sous chef positions. Paul ended up with Barbara Lynch, Ty-Lor, Chris Crary, and Keith, while Sarah got Nyesha, Heather, Grayson, and Stone, Tyler Stone. (Remember him? Nope, me either.)

After Paul and Sarah made their choices, the teams planned menus and did a ton of shopping because the goal was to dazzle 100 guests and judges with four carefully-crafted, amazing, stupendous dishes.

Paul stayed in his comfort zone, creating a Japanese-influenced Asian menu. Sarah mostly stuck with her Italian style, but added in some German touches. The judges were blown away by each course - despite small issues here and there - and had a difficult decision to make.

In the end, Paul's menu won out, and he was awarded the title of Top Chef, with all of the accompanying goodies.

88% of voting Bravo viewers thought Paul should win. What did you think? Please leave a comment!

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Top Chef Texas Finale Part 3 Previews

Click here to watch the first video.
Click here to watch the second video.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Recap Roundup - Top Chef Texas Finale Part 2

Minxeats on Beverly: "It's really funny how many times the ghost of Beverly comes up in this episode. While the judges are waiting for their food, Gail cracks wise about a special 'Last Chance Finale Kitchen' that Tom has to rush off to so Beverly could get back into the competition again. Emeril then says he thinks she's there already, hiding under the table."

A Just Recompense on no vegans allowed: "Paul is hoping to make something you think is cold but when you eat it, it’s hot. I don’t know what that means, but it sounds clever. Paul finds 'essential oils' to make snow. Hugh notes in his blog: 'Paul is pulling the claws off live lobsters. This will make the animal rights people really happy.' I love Hugh. You know, when Tiffani Faisson chopped a lobster in half and tossed it into a screaming hot skillet in the Season 1 semi-final, the blogosphere roared with outrage. I’m guessing Paul’s crustacean dispatch will go without comment, the difference being we could actually see Tiffani’s lobster twitching in the hot pan. And we like Paul. We like Tiffani now, post All-Stars, but not then."

Jordan Baker on something I missed completely: "Padma congratulates Paul on moving on to the finale, and on winning a trip to Costa Rica 'where you can experience what it’s like to source some of the world’s best fair trade coffee.' Because that’s what people want to do on a vacation."

Max the Girl on that weird name game: "I’m not saying that the final 3 are a little dull, I’m just saying that they showed them playing a word association game in the car ride to Vancouver. (And did anyone catch the rules to this game? Steven Seagal leads to Sammy Hagar which leads to Q-Tip which leads to Barbara Bush? Was it the “washed up celebrities of the 80s' name game? Or perhaps just the 'blurt out any celebrity’s name you can think of' game?)"

Eater on something completely unrelated to Top Chef but funny as heck: "Our contestants have survived the cold of whistler and and the heat of Texas, so they are throwing a 'Fire and Ice' cocktail party. Is this related to the chain of "Mongolian grills" called Fire and Ice? I only went to one once, in the mall near where I went to college. The concept was you picked out your proteins, vegetables, and sauces from a salad bar, then you handed it to some dude to cook on a griddle for you. I was dining with a bunch of strangers, and while picking out my sauce, I tasted the habanero jerk sauce with my finger. Then I went to use the bathroom and THINGS were touched. I came back to the dinner and my crotch was on fire. I kept going back to the bathroom to try and splash water down my pants. It was a really fun meal, and one I remember fondly."

Entertainment Weekly on the Quickfire: "The chefs met Padma and Emeril in Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie where masters of Asian cuisine Anita Lo, Floyd Cardoz, and Takashi Yagihashi were waiting for them. The chefs were each paired with one of the masters for a tag-team Quickfire Challenge in which the chef and master had to take turns cooking a dish one at a time in 10-minute intervals. The winner stood to win a whopping $20,000. Sarah crossed her fingers for Takashi, who does seem crazy awesome, but Paul drew his name instead. Lindsay drew Anita and Sarah got Floyd. Best name ever for a grown man, not a great name for a baby."

Gail Simmons for PopWatch on Lindsay's final dish: "It’s interesting, when I first [tasted] Lindsay’s dish I actually really liked [it]. Then, when we started taking apart each component — because that’s what you have to do finalize whose [dish] is better — we realized that while each individual component was good [and] she didn’t make any mistakes, there wasn’t a lot of creativity. [Her dish] wasn’t as interesting as the other two, we didn’t feel she pushed herself in terms of the concept as much. There were also a lot of different things in the dish that didn’t necessarily go well together, even if they were individually well done. As a whole we didn’t think it completely came together. I thought [the tomato ice] was a really good idea, but she sort of put it separately and [it] didn’t serve a purpose in that way. So, the ice component of her dish was completely removed from everything else. It just felt like it was a bunch of disparate pieces instead of being a really cohesive plate of food. Her cocktail was certainly the least creative, the most ordinary. It was basically a Bloody Mary, which I can make myself at home. I can think of those flavors, they’re very common, classic flavors, whereas the other two contestants made cocktails that were interesting, especially paired to their dishes, and really creative. Not that her cocktail was what sent her home, but it all plays in. I really liked her celery root salad. I thought it was a little bit fiery. It was hotter than the other two. Unfortunately, in terms of choosing from the three, [Lindsay's dish] was just the least interesting and overall the least compelling."

My Monkey Could Do That on Tom's "bitch hat": "Tom time! Paul is making his soup, which will be poured over 'lemon snow' tableside so it will all melt together. Tom cruelly asks him why he didn’t win the Quickfire, and Paul says it’s just that Lindsay and Sarah just made better dishes. Lindsay has halibut (served hot) over some kind of salad (served cold). And tomato granita. Tom…I think Tom has his bitch hat on today. He reminds Lindsay about Restaurant Wars, and how Beverly overcooked her fish, and then says it seemed like it was overcooked because that’s how Lindsay told her to do it. Ha!"

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Top Recipe: Paul Qui's King Crab with Sunchoke Chips, Lobster Broth and Lemon Snow; Cocktail: "The Pan Am" (Kaffir Lime, Thai Chilis and Rum)

King Crab with Sunchoke Chips, Lobster Broth and Lemon Snow 

4 lobsters
2 pounds king crab
2 ounces pernod
1/2 cup fennel, small diced
1/2 cup onion, small diced
1/2 cup celery, small diced
1/2 cup carrot, small diced
1/2 cup tomato, small diced
1 tablespoon ground dried Thai chili
2 ounces Thai red curry paste
1 lemongrass stalk, minced
2 cups clarified butter
1/4 pound butter
1 cup coconut cream
100 grams tapioca maltodextrin
1 grams lemon essential oil
10 grams grape seed oil
1/2 cup sunchokes
Crème fraiche, as needed
2 lemons, zested and juiced
Olive oil, as needed
Salt, to taste
Arugula, garnish

While alive, split the lobsters into heads and tails. Split the heads in half and rip off the knuckles and claws. Steam the claws for 6 minutes and the tails for 5 minutes. Shock in ice water, shell and cut into bite size pieces. Reserve. Clean king crab, cut into bite size pieces and reserve. Once ready to plate, warm king crab and lobster in 1 cup of clarified butter. Rip the crown off the head and scrape the gills of with a spoon. Cut the lobster bodies into 8 pieces and place under running water until the water runs clear. Once the lobster bodies are flushed, strain off excess water and shake dry.

In a rondeau roast lobster bodies on med/high in 1 cup clarified butter until golden brown and caramelized. Remove lobster bodies and strain off excess butter.

Deglaze with pernod and scrape rondeau. Add excess butter back in and saute red curry and dried Thai chilis in clarified butter on medium. Add vegetables and cook until soft. Once all the vegetable are really soft almost mush, add the lobster bodies back in the rondeau and fill with water until the bodies are completely submerged. Simmer for 2.5 hours, add lemongrass in the last 30 minutes. Season to taste. Blend the stock with the lobster shells, mirapoix, whole butter and coconut cream and strain thorough a chinois. Keep hot and reserve.

Cut sunchokes on a mandolin into chip size thickness and fry in oil at 300 degrees Fahrneheit until crispy.

Dilute 1 gram of lemon essential oil into 10 grams of grapeseed oil. Mix in 100 grams of tapioca maltodextrin and season with salt to taste. Freeze in liquid nitrogen to make ‘snow.’

Finish:
Place a swoop of crème fraiche in a bowl. Place 2 pieces of crab and 2 pieces of lobster in a bowl. Place a few pieces of arugula and a stack of sunchoke chips. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice. Place lemon ‘snow’ in the bowl and serve. Pour lobster broth table side.

Pan Am Cocktail
1 quart water
1 quart sugar
2 ounces kaffir lime leaves
1 stalk of lemongrass
1 ounce ginger
2 ounces Thai chilies
(1 part) light rum
(1 part) lime juice
5 grams versawhip

Combine all the ingredients (except versawhip) in a pot and bring to a simmer, until sugar dissolves.

For foam, Take 1 quart of syrup and whip in a kitchen aid with 5 grams of versawhip until shaving foam consistency.

© 2012 PAUL QUI

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Bravo Exit Interview - Lindsay Autry

Watch the interview here.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

ATC Love to Chef Lindsay Autry

Chef Lindsay Autry was a fierce competitor through the whole of Top Chef Season 9 and made it all the way to the Final Three. Unfortunately, this year there is yet another finale round and Lindsay didn't make the cut. Her halibut dish, while perfectly cooked, seemed a bit scattered to the judges, who decided that her time on Top Chef needed to end now.



Chef Autry, you should be proud of your accomplishments and we wish you much luck, happiness, and love in your future.

This post is only for positive comments about Chef Autry. If you have anything negative to say, please do so on our Reactions post.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Congratulations, Chef Paul Qui!

Just when it started to look like Chef Paul Qui was going to be eliminated for a piece of arugula, he ends up winning the challenge and a trip for two to Costa Rica! What more can we say but "congratulations yet again!"

And..."good luck next week!"



This post is only for positive comments about Chef Qui. If you have anything negative to say, please do so on our Reactions post.

This Posted on AllTopChef.com

Top Chef Texas Finale Part 2 Preview

Click here to watch preview 1
Click here to watch preview 2

Posted on AllTopChef.com